Germany to Get Printed Version Wikipedia

Germany to Get Printed Version Wikipedia

Techtree News Staff, Apr 25, 2008 2232 hrs IST

According to Beate Varnhorn, head of publishing at Bertelsmann Encyclopedia Institute, the condensed one-volume print edition will bring the pleasure of Wikipedia to a newer audience.

German fans of the online encyclopedia "Wikipedia" will soon be able to access it offline. How? A printed version is soon expected to hit stores in Germany.

Publishers Bertelsmann have announced plans to publish a printed reference book titled, "The One Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia" that will feature content related to nearly 50,000 widely-searched terms on the German version of the Web site plus abbreviated entries. The 992 pages long book will also contain keywords one would have never thought could be so interesting.

According to Beate Varnhorn, head of publishing at Bertelsmann Encyclopedia Institute, the condensed one-volume print edition will bring the pleasure of Wikipedia to a newer audience. The approach is to give people the information that they are looking for. There's a catch though: while the online version enables users to move to newer or related topics via hyperlinks, there's no such provision in the offline version. On the Web site, there's infinite more room for finding and adding content; not so in the printed version. Meanwhile, "the One Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia" is scheduled to go on sale in Germany in September and will cost Deutsche Mark 19.95 approximately.